Big Idea:
Students work towards CCSS.MP1: Make sense of and persevere through problems with this introductory lesson. Students learn to visualize what is happening in the problem.

In first grade, the CCSS standards say that students should be able to solve a variety of problem types (1.OA.1). In order to do this, students need to be able to make sense of what is happening in the problem (MP1). Students use visualizing to help them make sense of problems in this early first grade lesson.

Review

Last week we learned about the different things we need to do to communicate how we think about problems. Today we are going to practice visualizing what is happening in the story problem. Visualize means to think about what is happening in the problem in our brains.

Connect

When we visualize a problem, it helps us play it like a movie! We can see each part and what is happening, and that makes it easier to solve the problem.

Objective

Your thinking job today is to retell what happens in the story problem and picture it in your brain.

These students will practice visualizing problems with numbers under 6.

Group B: On Track

These students will practice visualizing story problems with numbers under 10.

Group C: Extension

I’ll push this group on strategy type-are they using a counting strategy yet? If not, I’ll encourage them to try the problem without cubes or fingers. However, they will also have story problems with numbers under 10.

See how one student showed how to Represent Finger Strategies. She showed exactly what she did with her fingers, though my push for her is to add numbers into her picture to show how she counted.This would help me know if she counted all or counted on.

See how one student showed she used Counting On. You can look at her strategy picture and understand exactly what she did! The push for this student is to explain this in words. Early in first grade, I expect that kids may be more expressive in strategy pictures then in words, particularly for students who struggle more in reading.

I have used many of your math lessons in my first grade classroom. I am a first year teacher, and the resource you have provided here is gold! I appreciate that your lessons are broken into comprehensive units. Your lessons are very engaging for my students. Thank you for all the work you have put into these lessons and for sharing them!

Similar Lessons

Big Idea:
This lesson brings all the skills from the prior lessons in addition and subtraction story problems together to allow the student to experience, solve and persevere through simple story problems from their beginning to their solution.

Big Idea:
Blending is not just for ELA teachers! Today students will learn to "blend" (combine) two sets of dots and then compare the number to another using greater than by playing versions of previous learned activities.